Rental Car Ruckus 2: Electric Boogaloo

[Sijray21]

I'd still prefer a 3rd pedal but I'll concede its neat technology, although I'm not sure its worlds better the 8-speed ZF in the F31 I drove

Funny you mention this. When i test drove an F30 328i mSport with the zf8-speed auto last fall i got the same feeling. It was quick, effortlessly quick, but i definitely felt disengaged from the whole driving experience. I enjoyed the ride, but the test drive kind of gave me a feeling of "what's the point?" The F30 328i msport was comfortable, quick (not fast), and nice to drive. Somehow the 6-spd older GTI still felt more engaging and exciting to drive, albeit slower. That test drive sort of made me reconsider what i want out of a car. The only cars i drive consistently are conventional stick-shift and i enjoy that. If it doesn't have the third pedal and a stick to shift gears around with i thought about going more cush and less sporty/rigid for a daily... I'm sure the kind of power that this m5 has could be exciting, but how often could you hoon it?